Looks like the US version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" will air in Britain on BBC once it's finished its run on this side of the pond, according to the Scottish Genealogy News and Events blog. (Apparently the British version of the US version of the British show will be slightly different.)

Historical records subscription site Footnote is making its US census records free for a limited time.

Footnote spokesperson Justin Schroepfer says there’s not yet a firm ending date, but the records will be free at least through the end of this month. You’ll need to register as a free member to view the records.

Footnote is carrying out plans to host the complete US census back to 1790. Here are the census records on the site so far:

The offer will help Footnote capture the family history interest stirred up by network television programs such as “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Faces of America.” The getting-started page bills Footnote as the “unofficial, affordable and premiere resource for Who Do You Think You Are?”

Just look at the packaging for our 10 Years of Family Tree Magazine 2000-2009 DVD. It’s so pretty, you might not want to open it. But go ahead. Here’s what you’ll find:

A DVD with the past decade’s worth of Family Tree Magazine issues. All our genealogy research guides, tips, tools and tutorials—more than 4,700 pages, Allison declared after one-on-one time with a calculator—on a convenient, space-saving DVD.

A Family Tree Magazine library, if you will.

All the issues are PDF files; open them with the free Adobe Reader on a Mac or a PC. You can click to browse each issue from the Start page, or search (also from the Start page) for topics of interest to you.

The enhanced files let you click through to recommended websites. Bookmarks make it easy to navigate to your favorite stories and sections of the magazine.

Finding an ancestor’s immigration record is the goal of many a genealogist, which is why I’m selecting an excerpt from Rick Crume’s February 2007 Family Tree Magazine article on Stephen P. Morse’s One-Step search site for this week's “Best of” installment.

Just before the issue was printed, Morse's Gold form replaced the old Blue and Gray forms. That's about the only time we've had to say "Stop the presses!"

When Ellis Island launched its database of New York City passenger arrivals from 1892 to 1924, genealogists viewed it as the greatest advancement since pedigree charts. The ability to freely search records of 22 million immigrants, passengers and crew—and view digital images of the lists—was a huge research boon. But as great as the site was, people became frustrated with its limitations: Searching on just first name, last name and gender wasn’t adequate for finding everyone’s immigrant ancestors.

Those limitations inspired the first One-Step tools. Although EllisIsland.org has since expanded its search options (they now include features that debuted on the One-Step site, such as name-spelling flexibility, birth year, ship name, town of origin and ethnicity), Morse’s White and Gold Ellis Island search forms still offer extra options for ferreting out hard-to-find immigrant ancestors. For instance, the Gold Form lets you search for town names that sound like your search term; both forms let you search on port of departure and age.

By default, both forms hunt for matches that start with your search term. That way, if you search on Glasgow in the town field, you'll catch both Glasgow and Glasgow, Scotland—whichever way it was recorded.

A key distinction between the forms: The White Form employs the same search engine as the Ellis Island site. The Gold Form uses a different search engine, which works faster when you search on name fragments.

Morse advises using the Gold Form for most searches, and the White Form when you need a “fresh perspective” for your search.

Morse unveiled the Gold Form to provide maximum flexibility in searching all 25 million people in the Ellis Island database. It melds the best of his old Blue and Gray forms, offering added parameters for searching all the records—including traveling companion, exact arrival date and marital status. Want to search for everyone from a particular village? Specify the town, but leave the name fields blank.

This is what it looks like (that's my great-grandfather's Petition for Naturalization):

The viewer controls are better organized by function, and it’s easier to navigate within the collection and to other records. More specifically, the changes include:

The source information panel has moved from the right to the left side of the page (you can click an arrow to close the panel).

The filmstrip of record images at the bottom of the viewer defaults to closed (use the Open filmstrip link to open it).

A Find pop-up box lets you search for a name or other word in the record.

Controls to manipulate the record image (such as magnifying and rotating it) were separated from out and moved from above the image to the vertical toolbar on the left.

Sharing features (such as adding a note to the image and—new in the viewer—posting it to
your Facebook page) are above the image.

The breadcrumb trail showing you which collection you’re in, and letting you navigate within it, is above the sharing features. (Previously, this breadcrumb trail was located inconspicuously above the filmstrip.)

"I honestly had no clue how valued it was by the genealogical community, and I agree with the many of you who pointed out that it serves a somewhat different purpose than the prime time programming that's on TV at present," she says in an e-mailed message to the site’s newsletter subscribers.

Roots Television videos will soon feature commercials to help defray hosting and streaming expenses. "Unfortunately, I don't have the resources to customize [the commercials], but I'll experiment with ways to make them as painless as possible," Smolenyak says.

She’s also seeking advertising for the site. Smolenyak reported that at least 20 organizations or individuals expressed interest in adopting the site.

For those of you yearning to know more about how a small army of genealogists uncovered Sarah Jessica Parker’s Gold Rush and Salem Witch trial ancestry, shown Friday night in NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” premiere, Ancestry.com has provided a look at the behind-the-scenes research process.

And set your DVR to record "The Oprah Winfrey Show" Tuesday, which promises to be a geneafest as Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Lisa Kudrow, Brooke Shields and Emmitt Smith talk about their family history finds for “Who Do You Think You Are?” Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. also will discuss his findings on the PBS series "Faces of America" and, it looks like from the video clip, touch on Gates’ July 2009 arrest for disorderly conduct (which occurred upon his return from filming Yo-yo Ma’s family story in China).

We’ll be doing quick recaps of every “Who Do You Think
You Are?” episode right here. So if you haven’t yet watched the Sarah Jessica
Parker episode and you don’t want to know, stop reading this second.

Here are some of my thoughts (and Facebook posts) while I watched:

Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) and her brother are joking about
being related to a Mayflower passenger. I smell foreshadowing.

SJP's father is Eastern-European Jewish, but she has lots of
questions about her mother’s side. Her mother born and raised in Cincinnati’s
German Community (just like my mom’s dad). SJP visits her mom and learns her
great-grandmother's last name was Hodge.

Now she’s at the Museum Center, formerly Cincinnati’s Union Terminal train station (a great place to visit if you're ever in town), meeting with UCLA history professor Stephen Aron.

Hodge invested $200 in a gold-prospecting company. He
left for California, leaving his wife (whom he may or may not have known was
pregnant). It’s neat to see SJP’s genuine excitement and curiosity. Now off to
California.

I’m concerned viewers will think you actually have to
visit every place your ancestors lived in order to research. That might make it
even more fun and exciting, but it’s definitely not required!

John Hodge did die after he arrived in California. Sad.

SJP says it's “extraordinary” to think your ancestor was part of such
a profound event in history. That’s what I love about genealogy.

Whew! SJP’s relative was arrested near the end of the trials, and ended up never having to go to court. She lived
to age 82.

I feel like there should be a disclosure telling us how
many hours and how many people all this research took. But, I really enjoyed watching someone else enjoy the process of genealogy. It was fun watching along with my Facebook genealogy friends. I think the show told a great story, introduced us to (or reacquainted us with) historical events, and got across how meaningful family history research can be.

The National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC, is holding its sixth annual Genealogy Fair April 14 and 15th. Look for free classes and workshop, as well as a "Help! I’m Stuck!” table staffed with genealogy experts. Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, author of the “Who Do You Think You Are?” book, will present a talk April 14 at 7 p.m. Also appearing is Andrew Carroll, editor of the books War Letters and Behind the Lines.

The bill is LD 1781, An Act To Allow Electronic Filing of Vital Records and Closing of Records To Guard against Fraud and Make Other Changes to the Vital Records Laws, was the subject of a hearing yesterday before the legislature's Health and Human Services committee.

Sec. 12. 22 part 2706, Disclosure of Vital Records, reads “After 100 years from the date of birth for birth certificates, after 100 years from the date of death for fetal death certificates and death certificates, after 100 years from the date of marriage for marriage certificates and after 100 years from the registration of domestic partnerships, any person may obtain informational copies of these vital records in accordance with the department's rules.”

That would effectively close records to all but immediate family or legal representatives for 100 years after they’re created, throwing a big obstacle in the way of family historians with Maine ancestors.

It’s an unnecessary obstacle. As Dick says, vital records are rarely used for fraud. Most identity theft happens when people with access to sensitive information, such as employees of financial institutions or government agencies, steal data and sell it. Stolen wallets, credit cards and mail are other sources. (Follow the links in Dick's post for more details.)

The bill does let record custodians “permit inspection of records, or issue certified copies of certificates or records, or any parts thereof, when satisfied that the applicant therefore has a direct and legitimate interest in the matter recorded.”

But there’s no allowance for uncertified records, unofficial documents that many states issue for genealogy research.